Congressional Democrats To Draft Bill To Overturn Supreme Court Decision On Medical Devices

Regarding this ill advised, virtual "get out of jail free card" ruling, to benefit mightily the Med Device Industry, I was thrilled to see others equally as upset.

Senator Ted Kennedy sums it up well:

"In enacting legislation on medical devices, Congress never intended that FDA approval would give blanket immunity to manufacturers from liability for injuries caused by faulty devices." He said that without congressional action "FDA approval will become a green light for shoddy practices by manufacturers" of medical devices. Full article here.

HUGE NEWS: Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Link in Federal Court!

HUGE NEWS: Government Concedes Vaccine-Autism Link in Federal Court!

Note from Ilena: This is a landmark case and one to make the enormous Vaccination Public Relations Teams go wild!

I highly doubt it was the 'plaintiff's' identity that sealed this case. In the breast implant debacle, one of the ways the manufacturers keep their cover up going, is with gag orders silencing the women (after paying mere pittances for their damages).

The Vaccination and Breast Implant Industries have used identical strategies (and PR people) for several years. I fully believe that breast implants (and all the chemicals and metals present), can and often do trigger disease responses much like described here ... some which may have forever remained dormant.

By David Kirby

After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims.

The unprecedented concession was filed on November 9, and sealed to protect the plaintiff's identify. It was obtained through individuals unrelated to the case.

In its written concession, the government said the child had a pre-existing mitochondrial disorder that was "aggravated" by her shots, and which ultimately resulted in an ASD diagnosis. More at Huffington Post.

Dangerous Precedent ~ Supreme Court Gives Med Device Industry a Free Ride Because FDA Claims Device is "Safe"

Note from Ilena: Even at a time when the FDA has admitted many of it's failings ... the Supreme Court gives the industry a free ride because this product, (like breast implants)  is considered 'safe' by the FDA.

"The FDA cannot fulfill its mission because its scientific base has eroded and its scientific organizational structure is weak." Read FDA report here (opens pdf). Full index here.

The Supreme Court is making it harder for consumers to sue manufacturers of federally approved medical devices.

In an 8-1 decision, the court ruled against the estate of a patient who suffered serious injuries when a catheter burst during a medical procedure.  More here.

What ARE they injecting into the Bottoms of African Women ? ? ? ?

Ivory Coast's 'big-bottom' craze  ... CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION

By John James BBC News,  full story here.

Ilena's Personal Blog

Is Botox killing children ? ? ?

WASHINGTON -- The popular anti-wrinkle drug Botox and a competitor have been linked to dangerous botulism symptoms in some users, cases so bad that a few children given the drugs for muscle spasms have died, the government warned Friday.

Friday's warning came two weeks after the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen petitioned the FDA to strengthen warnings to users of Botox and Myobloc - citing 180 reports of U.S. patients suffering fluid in the lungs, difficulty swallowing or pneumonia, including 16 deaths.

Nor is it the first warning. The drugs' labels do warn about the potential for botulinum toxin to spread beyond the injection site and occasionally kill, but the warnings link that side effect to patients with certain neuromuscular diseases, such as myasthenia gravis. More here.

Doctors Group asks for Scientific Research on Medical Marijuana

Note from Ilena:  The object of mass propaganda campaigns by competing industries for decades ... some sanity may now be breaking through, aided by open minded physicians.

by Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading U.S. doctors group has endorsed using marijuana for medical purposes, urging the U.S. government to roll back a prohibition on using it to treat patients and supporting studies into its medical applications.

The group cited evidence that marijuana is valuable in treating severe weight loss associated with AIDS, and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients.

"Additional research is needed to clarify marijuana's therapeutic properties and determine standard and optimal doses and routes of delivery. Unfortunately, research expansion has been hindered by a complicated federal approval process, limited availability of research-grade marijuana and the debate over legalization," the group said.

The Philadelphia-based group, founded in 1915, is made up of 124,000 doctors who treat adults.

Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which urges legal and regulated sales of marijuana, said, "This statement by America's second-largest doctors group demolishes the myth that the medical community doesn't support medical marijuana."For more, click here.

Vaccine Bill Proposed in South Dakota ... Flu Shots still contain mercury

By Caitlin Haedicke

For years, researchers have been studying a possible link between vaccines that contain a mercury based preservative and mental disorders such as autism.

While the medical community continues to study the issue, eight states have already taken action. Iowa, Delaware, Hawaii, California, New York, Illinois, Missouri and Washington have either banned or reduced the amount of mercury in childhood vaccinations. Here in South Dakota, vaccines with almost five times the FDA's recommended limit are still being used.

The FDA recommendation for mercury in vaccinations is .5 micrograms per.5 milliliter dose. Alhers says the state's influenza vaccination is five times that.

Despite his conviction, Ahlers believes the bill wont the pass in the legislature because of the cost. Mercury reduced shots would cost $3.10 more a piece. More here.

Pills might not be the answer ...

Justin Weisbrod, Staff Writer

Media Credit: MCT Campus

'Mind body techniques have gone through the same scientific process in terms of effectiveness and validity than say pharmaceuticals and surgery,' Dr. Tomer Anbar of the Mind Body Health initiative said of holistic health methods - a newly revived form of medicine.

A report from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that "more than 15 million Americans are abusing prescription drugs."

This false sense of absolute protection causes many of the careless unsustainable lifestyles that people live.
The holistic health industry, better known as Mind Body Health, encompasses a way of living that we've been taught for ages: Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables; practice meditation and yoga; visit a massage therapist regularly, and stay active.  

Many aspects of alternative medicine can be effective but are not incorporated in mainstream medicine. In a study by Dr. Hemstreet, 483 MD licenses were canceled for using aspects of alternative medicine or natural healing system nutrition.  (Note from Ilena:  It is now known that my nemesis, Stephen Barrett, has been a part of the attacks against licensed physicians for decades.)

More here.

Bill Maher talks about the Real "Pharmer's Market" ... MUST SEE !

 
Click for Youtube Video
Bill says:  The government isn't your Nanny.
They're your dealer!

Prescription Drugs, Not Illegal Ones, Killed Heath Ledger

By Scott Thill, AlterNet.
The media pounced on his admitted love of weed and coke but did little to investigate the prescription drugs that did him in.
But an important point is being utterly missed: Coke, heroin and weed did not kill him. Prescription drugs did.Click here for more.

Mentally Disabled Women Used in Bombings in Iraq ... What kind of world are we living in ? ? ?

Iraqi men mourn relatives killed in a suicide bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 1, 2008. A pair of female suicide bombers blew themselves up Friday in two Baghdad pet markets, killing at least 64 people and wounding dozens, police said. The attacks were the deadliest in the Iraqi capital since 30,000 more American forces flooded into the center of the country last spring. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)  More at Huffington Post

Cancer fight turns to toxic toad venom

A Houston hospital known for seeking the most advanced cancer therapies that modern science can develop is turning its attention to a centuries-old Chinese treatment: toad venom.

Scientists from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are investigating whether the stuff that some types of toads use to sicken their natural predators can also be a healer, as doctors of traditional Chinese medicine have long believed.  click here for full story.

Scientists from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are investigating whether the stuff that some types of toads use to sicken their natural predators can also be a healer, as doctors of traditional Chinese medicine have long believed.

"Without hesitation, toad venom was the No. 1 drug (Chinese) doctors mentioned when we asked them to suggest the best natural cancer medicines to test," Lorenzo Cohen, director of M.D. Anderson's integrative medicine program, said from China. "It may sound wild to Americans, but it's accepted as a standard of care here."

Ilena quoted in RedWood Age: Resolutions That Go Beyond Losing Weight

Excerpt from Redwood Age:

#6 Become a better health advocate

Ilena Rosenthal, a women's health advocate, cautioned boomers not to be swayed by advertising, and to be mindful of subsequent perks some physicians receive to tout products.

"Learning to follow the money behind the massive number of medical messages we receive daily may well lead us to realize that modern medicine has little to do with health and everything to do with business," Rosenthal said."

… full article here

Visit Ilena's Blog

The umbilical cord is a baby's lifeline, bringing nourishment from the mother and removing waste.

The amniotic fluid bathes the growing embryo, and the umbilical cord brings the embryo oxygen, nutrients-and a startling array of toxic industrial chemicals, according to a recent study, "Body Burden: The Pollution in Newborns." (whole article here)

This year, 1,400 whales, including 50 humpback whales, could die in another senseless annual hunt.

Please sign the petition to the Ambassador of Japan today >>

In the past 15 years, Japan has increased its catch five-fold. More than 30,000 whales have been killed for commercial purposes since the ban on global whaling in 1986.  

The Japanese government attempts to defend its whaling program by calling it "scientific" whaling.

Killing whales under the guise of conducting research, when the real purpose is to sell their meat for a profit, is deceitful and illegal under international law.

Please join us in sending a strong message to Japan: stop the illegal killing of all whales, including the humpback, immediately.

Sunshine helps in the fight against breast cancer

Note from Ilena:  Some good news for a change! Second study that supports this.

Sunshine helps in the fight against breast cancer     Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2195614.ece

Women who stay out of the sun are increasing their risk of developing
breast cancer, a new study suggests.

The Disappearing Birds from Rachel.org

Here is more evidence that we are shredding the biosphere one small decision at a time, diminishing the world we will leave to our children. This occurs because of what we produce and how we produce it, both of which are the result of choices.

UPDATE ON: The Politics & PR of Cervical Cancer

A four-article series by CMD's Associate Director, Judith Siers-Poisson.

• Part 1: Setting the Stage
• Part 2: Research, Develop, and Sell, Sell, Sell
• Part 3: Women in Government, Merck's Trojan Horse

Part 4: Profit Knows No Borders, Selling Gardasil to the Rest of the World: Part Four of the Politics and PR of Cervical Cancer

Dog Flu Diet and Diseases

Another Caution on Cardiovascular Risks From HRT MedPage Today - 1 hour ago By Neil Osterweil, Senior Associate Editor, MedPage Today ADELAIDE, Australia, July 12 -- Once again, hormone replacement therapy started a decade or more past menopause has been found to increase the risk for cardiovascular and thromboembolic events, ... Hormone Therapy Not For Older Women CBS News

Workers Say Pesticides Made Them Sterile
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070709/banana-workers/

NOAKI SCHWARTZ July 9, 2007 04:46 AM EST AP

LOS ANGELES — The pesticide was designed to kill worms infesting the roots of banana trees on Latin American plantations. But at least 5,000 agricultural workers from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama have filed five lawsuits in this country claiming they were left sterile after being exposed in the 1970s to the pesticide known as DBCP. Click here for more.